User Profile: Fusilli

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Fusilli
Member since Aug-09-04 · Last seen Apr-18-25

Mariano Sana, Argentinian by birth, in the US since 1995. Naturalized US citizen. I hold a PhD in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania, and I am an associate professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt University: https://as.vanderbilt.edu/sociology.... Previously, I was at Louisiana State University (2003-2009).
My published academic work can be seen here: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/Mar.... My review of Gary Alan Fine's "Players and Pawns" is here: https://www.academia.edu/69647923/P....
My avatar comes from a cartoon of mine drawn by a friend. My username, besides the pasta, is my late cat's name (he died in March 2021, age 19), inspired by this cartoon: https://condenaststore.com/featured....
My first tournament was at age 12 in 1979. I finished 8th in the Argentine junior championship in 1985. So, I was good enough, but not great. (That same evaluation might still be apt today, on a good day.) Unfortunately, no game scores survived from those years. I started to play again after grad school. I play between 0 and 4 tournaments per year.
I won the Louisiana State Championship in 2007. I lost the first game and then won six in a row. This was my last round win, where I got lucky after playing the opening pretty terribly: J Rousselle vs M Sana, 2007.
I also won the under 2200 section of the US Open in 2014. Again, Swiss gambit. Lost the first one, then won five in a row, lost game 7 (M Sana vs J Sheng, 2014, a rather atypical game), and won games 8 and 9. My last round win was featured as a Tuesday puzzle: K Gulamali vs M Sana, 2014. (Try it! Black to play at move 29. But you can also do black to play at move 22 as a principled-move puzzle.)
I'd say that I am essentially a good but inconsistent player. My playing style is a mix of strategic and tactical. I'm usually very willing to sac a pawn or allow positional weaknesses in exchange for active piece play. For years I hovered around 2200, down to mid 2100s a few years ago after a disaster and a 50-point loss at the 2019 World Open. (Aging and MS fatigue had much to do with that.) On good days, I have had nice wins: T Bartell vs M Sana, 2009, R Burnett vs M Sana, 2012, M Sana vs C Blocker, 2014, M Sana vs R Burnett, 2015. But on a bad day, I can play horribly and lose against whoever is sitting in front of me.
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2011, but it didn't cause me trouble until 2018/9. I have a weak right leg (I often use a cane now) and I fatigue easily. Medication, well-timed naps, and exercise help.
I play blitz games on chess.com under the username RealFusilli.

My participation on this website goes through ebbs and flows, and the majority of my posts are about chess. I often post on my own forum just to keep records for myself. Everyone is welcome to visit and share! (But please don't post about politics here.)

>> Click here to see Fusilli's game collections.

   Fusilli has kibitzed 6116 times to chessgames [more...]

   Mar-31-25 Z Peng vs G P Arnaudov, 2015

Fusilli: I like 4.Nf3 against the Benko. And then the restraining 6.e3, which keeps options open. The line gives white comfortable positional play while complicating the typical themes black plays for in this gambit. Here black went for the deceivingly good-looking 7...Qa5+ and 8...Ne4, but ...

   Mar-21-25 Fusilli chessforum

Fusilli: <stone> I mean he played Rxh6+ Kg8, Qh4

   Mar-19-25 Oscar Panno

Fusilli: Detailed post about the 1978 olympiad chess set here: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/ch...

   Mar-14-25 Keymer vs C Aravindh, 2025

Fusilli: I like 12.exd4 better than 12.Bxd4. The computer agrees, but it leads to insane complications that white shouldn't have to deal with in this opening.

   Mar-07-25 G Szilagyi vs J Pinter, 1974

Fusilli: <Straclonoor> Yup, 58.c5 bxc5 59.b5 does it. Good catch! Those endgames are tricky. Never assume you can draw because it's a rook endgame and your king is close to the opponent's extra pawn!

   Mar-06-25 B Larsen vs Spassky, 1970

Fusilli: Naka would have promoted a rook, but Spassky was a gentleman, not in the business of humiliating his opponents.

   Mar-02-25 Aronian vs R Praggnanandhaa, 2022

Fusilli: <Teyss> True! What a gangsta game by Pragg!

   Mar-01-25 Quinteros vs Razuvaev, 1973

Fusilli: Frustrating! Amazing defense skill, but white must have missed the opportunity somewhere.

   Feb-28-25 Tal vs Portisch, 1976

Fusilli: One thing I like about this game is that it demonstrates that the poison pawn variation doesn't just sac a pawn, but also the pawn structure, creating an isolated and backward c-pawn.

   Feb-28-25 Boris Spassky

Fusilli: Legend. Most deserving of admiration and respect. Farewell, Boris.

indicates a reply to the comment.

My Facerook Wall

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 107 OF 107 · Later Kibitzing>
Feb-21-25		keypusher: Thanks all, and I'll need all the luck I can get -- feel free to butt in anytime, SFOD.

Feb-21-25		Fusilli: A good number of pearls there. For example, #10 USCF column: <To claim a win on time in a non-sudden death time control, the opponent must have a reasonably complete scoresheet with no more than three missing or incorrect move pairs for the time control. A player may call his own flag as a means of preventing the opponent from filling in missing moves on the scoresheet. (Once the flag has been called, the opponent may not update the scoresheet.) Only the scoresheet of the player making the claim that the opponent overstepped the time limit may be used to prove that the required number of moves was not made. However, the opponent’s scoresheet may be used to prove the claim is incorrect.> This is interesting because it does not specify what happens then. I mean, say I'm in a terrible position, and about to flag, but my opponent kept terrible records, so I flag and call my own flag. Then the TD looks at my opponent's scoresheet and is a mess. So, a win on time cannot be claimed. But then what? The game was stopped, my flag is down, my opponent's scoresheet is a mess. I can argue that I played badly because my opponent kept moving without writing down his moves, so I ran out of time. What does the TD do?

Feb-22-25		stone free or die: <<kp> feel free to butt in anytime, SFOD.> Don't encourage the guy, <kp>!

Feb-23-25		keypusher: Incidentally, are Jerry and Jeremy Spinrad different people? Jerry is playing in the Music City Open...he was seated two boards away from me last round.

Feb-23-25		Fusilli: Hi <keypusher>! I just checked you are at +2 -1 right now. Good luck! I plan to stop by to watch a bit of round 4. Yes, Jeremy is his name, Jerry is his nickname. He retired from Vanderbilt some four or five years ago: https://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/.... Nice guy, I always liked him. BTW, Austin Powell, a Vanderbilt student who is playing the open section, is doing research assistant work for me. He is rated about 1920 at the moment, and improving. In the first round, he beat Matthew Puckett (rated ~ 2300). Then lost to IM Ron Burnett. Los the third game too, but on average he has played opponents rated 2247, so 1 in 3 so far is a good performance. We met Friday in my office to talk about competitive chess strategy. My goal was to help him play with confidence and not be intimidated by the big boys. I think it worked!

Feb-24-25		keypusher: A pleasure to meet you in person, Professor! I finished 3-2, but more importantly I really enjoyed competitive chess for the first time in a while. Sure looked like Austin was winning in Rd. 4, but I'm not sure how he did in Rd. 5.

Feb-24-25		Fusilli: <keypusher> Likewise! I got a couple of good photos of you "in action." Email me at my Vanderbilt email address (easy to find by just googling me) and I'll email them over. I thought Austin position looked good when I left, shortly out of the opening, but I see in the tournament table that he actually lost in round 4. The table is not up to date with round 5 results.

Feb-24-25		moronovich: Sounds like a great experience <keypusher> and on top of that you met <Fussilli> ! Chapeau.

Feb-24-25		keypusher: Thanks <moronovich>. <Fusilli> It's funny, I was thinking "you never see a Gruenfeld" and there it was on Austin's board. Can't believe he lost, I thought it looked so good for him. <SFOD> Somehow moving, pressing the button and then writing the move down was psychologically reinforcing...I felt very decisive. So thank you! It was probably good to have a set routine too. (But when my position was collapsing late in one game I completely forgot to press the button after I moved...my opponent, bless him, reminded me. Once (during a rapid game no less) my opponent let 10 minutes run off my clock when I did that.)

Feb-24-25		stone free or die: <KP> glad to be of (some) help. Especially glad you enjoyed getting back to it! (And bless those chess players who play the game as a true gentleman/woman of merit).

Feb-25-25		OhioChessFan: Belatedly to the Death Tournament, I think Iivo Nei has to be the last of several tournaments that would otherwise be in the lead.

Feb-25-25		Fusilli: <OCF> I think your link is wrong.

Mar-19-25		Fusilli: Blitz on chess.com, I am black. Black to play: click for larger view (Don't ask... it's been a crazy game. I actually sacked a piece first.) The good move is 26...Kg8, but I thought it made no difference to let him play Rxh6+ first and respond to that with Kg8. So, I played 26... c5 click for larger view What did I miss?

Mar-20-25		OhioChessFan: Ouch. Rxh6+ gxh6 Qxh6+ and a perpetual.

Mar-20-25		Fusilli: <OCF> Right, but I thought Rxh6+ Kg8 was still winning. But... what does white have there?

Mar-20-25		moronovich: Kg8 is met by the classic Nf5 ! double attack.

Mar-20-25		stone free or die: I'm seeing the knight getting to f5 then e7 for mate, all depending if Black cooperates of course.

Mar-21-25		Fusilli: <stone> <moro> Exactly. Black isn't dead though. Against Nf5, black has Qd7. Without looking at the lines, it's about equal, silicon monster says. Against Nc6, black has nothing better than Qxc6+... and again it's about equal. The advanced pawns compensate for the rook v queen.

Mar-21-25		stone free or die: I have to ask, out of idle curiosity, who ultimately won?

Mar-21-25		Fusilli: <stone> Good question! He actually didn't see the knight maneuver. He played Qh4? and I won. chess.com has a "review game" feature where you can run the game quickly by the computer and quickly discover things. I did that and discovered what both of us had missed.

Mar-21-25		Fusilli: <stone> I mean he played Rxh6+ Kg8, Qh4

Mar-22-25		stone free or die: Ah blitz, such a cruel mistress!

Apr-15-25		OhioChessFan: What was the last move? click for larger view

Apr-15-25		areknames: <OCF> I think I've got it. White has a bishop on g1, black's king is on h1 so the last move is Bh2+ followed by Kxh2. But how did black's king get to h1 in the first place? These things drive me crazy!

Apr-15-25		stone free or die: (Maybe the question should be what were the two last moves - one for each color!)

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